Anonymous •Billy Hargrove•

•Chapter Three•

The first thing Elena did when she got out of the car was vomit. Everything she had consumed that day came out of her and she could feel a warm hand on her back as she tried to breath.

A car pulled up beside them. "Is she okay?" Nancy's voice ringed through the air, as Elena held herself with one arm on the car and the other on her thigh. "Yep." She said, plopping the p. "Just dandy." She said, now standing straight and wiping her mouth. "Then let's get inside." Nancy said as she put an arm around Elena's waist to keep her steady.

As soon as they were in the living room Elena let herself fall onto the couch. "Mom! Can you get the first aid kit!" Jonathan yelled through the house. A minute later Joyce came with Hopper, both of their hair messy and breathing heavily. "Hey Hopper..." Jonathan said awkwardly as he blushed. "Damn were we interrupting something?" Elena asked, the eyes now on her. "Oh god, what happened to you!" Joyce said concerned as she went into the kitchen getting the first aid kid.

"It's nothing, really." Elena tried to convince Joyce. "She got beat up by a dude Steve used to be friends with." Jonathan said and if looks could kill Jonathan would be the first one to go down. "Who?" Hopper asked, his voice stern. "It's nothing, really. I'm used to it." Elena explained as a wet towel got dabbed on her face to get the blood off. Everyone now turned to her. "You shouldn't be used to it." Joyce said her voice layered with empathy. "And someone already took care. I don't want to make a big deal out of it." She explained as she looked at Steve, nodding at him as once again, as a thank you. "I see." Hopper nodded as he looked at Steve's knuckles. "Next time call me and I'll take care of him."

"Thank you but I need to go now, gotta pick up my sister and bring her somewhere and go home." Elena exclaimed as she stood up and put on the shirt that Jonathan had borrowed her, tucking it into her pants. "I'll drive with you. I need to pick up my car from school anyway." Steve said as he stood up and followed her after both had said their bye's.

The car ride was quiet, only some Metallica playing silently in the background. Elena's fingers were silently tapping to the beat of the music. "Are you really used to this?" Steve asked suddenly, the question burning on his tongue ever since she had said it. "Yes, ever since I came here. It's unusual to see someone from another country in this racist town, ain't it?" She laughed dryly. "I didn't know. And I didn't think that the youth here had this kind of thinking. I thought it was only the old ones." He said sighing as they pulled up to the school.

Elena didn't answer but she checked herself in the rearview mirror. She didn't look that bad, the blood made everything seem a lot more bad than it was. She had a split in her lip, one of her eyes was slowly but surely turning blue and she had a wound on her forehead. Nothing too bad, but her chest looked more than torn apart. Joyce had to put a bandage over it because hell who knew that boots could leave open wounds?

"Thank you for the drive." Steve said as both of them got out of the car, Steve walking to his own car while Elena sat down on the hood of her car, lighting up a cigarette.

"No thank you?" She turned to the voice, beside her a blonde Californian boy, a cigarette loosely hanging between his lips. "What for?" She said, her voice cold as she looked at him. He only nodded behind him and she could see Tommy, and god he looked messed up. "Thanks." She said, a smirk on her face.

The group of teenagers now came over to Elena. "Ja sam dobro! Stop crying!" [I am fine!] Elena laughed a bit as her sister hugged her, crying in her T-shirt. "It was scary, Elena." She said, sobbing and wiping her eyes. "I know, but Steve and big bad blonde guy were there for me. Not to forget Jonathan and Nancy." She laughed as she looked at her sister with a smile. No matter in how much pain she was, she'd never let her pain see her sister. "By the way, Max is sleeping at our place tonight, hope you don't mind." Elena lied straight to his face as she looked at him. "No it's fine." He said, before putting his cigarette out on the ground. "Okay girls, let's go!" Elena grinned as she clapped her hands together and hopped off her hood.

After Elena dropped them off at Joyce's house she decided not to drive home yet. After that today she couldn't bear going home now and seeing her dad.

So she drove her 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle to a lake she had found after she moved here. It always calmed her down, and she spent most of her time here.

But she was surprised when she saw Billy sitting on the dock, his feet loosely hanging in the water, in his right hand a bottle of whiskey and in his left what seemed to be a joint.

With a small groan she let herself sit down next to him after pulling off her shoes, and in silent they sat next to each other. Only now she noticed the forming black eye he had. She guessed it was from Tommy.

And without a word he offered her some of his whiskey, and without a word they drank together. Their eyes only focused on the still water in front of them and their feet disrupting it.